Urban Seoul 2.0
714 Spectrum Center Drive
Irvine, CA 92618
It's been a while since Ed has made an appearance in OC. Ed is the friend I have known the longest. We entered kindergarten together when we were five years old, went through the exact same schools for the next 12 years, and even though we took different paths after that, we remained very close. He became a successful economist and moved away, while I've stayed at my current job for the last 31 years, and lived in OC all of my life. Yes, even though we ended up being very different people, he's definitely one of the humans on earth that I'm proud to call my friend. He'd probably be shocked to see that I've written this.
Anyways, so when Ed swings by OC, I try to not only pick a place that we haven't been to yet but a restaurant that has that little something extra. To show Ed that his old stomping grounds have evolved quite a bit from when he moved away two decades ago. Back then Orange County was dominated by chain restaurants and the thought of a fusion spot, like Urban Seoul 2.0 opening up was plenty of years away.
The original Urban Seoul opened its doors six years ago last month at the always-packed Diamond Jamboree in Irvine. They grew a very large following with their borderless kitchen, which draws inspiration for their food from Asia and Mexico. With an always-packed dining room, local restauranteur Bronnie Lee and Chef Kacy Jun decided to open up another location at the equally busy Spectrum shopping center, just down the road.
Urban Seoul 2.0 is situated near Barnes and Noble and H and M, and right in between Pieology and Wahoo's Fish Tacos. I have never been to the original Urban Seoul, but comparing the two menus, there are some differences, but what struck me the most was the difference in price between the two sister restaurants. The menu items that are offered at both locations are all $3 more at this Spectrum spot, which is kind of odd to me, especially when you consider that the two restaurants are separated by only 8 miles and both are in high-traffic shopping centers. Maybe the serving sizes are bigger here at the Spectrum.
Anyways, we arrived here on a chilly Saturday evening and the restaurant was pretty busy, but we were seated right away. The setting here is what I'd describe as relaxed and comfortable. The dining room is highlighted on the left-hand side by a small eight-seat bar facing two TVs perched just above the bartender's head. The rest of the dining room is reserved for 15 or so sturdy wooden tables, and in the warmer weather, there's also a nice patio out front which I'm sure gets utilized quite a bit.
The menu is pretty good-sized at Urban Seoul 2.0. There's a section devoted to starters/share plates which features 11 different options for you to choose from. Sandwiches, a couple of salads, tacos, and specialty items, which are their bowls and skillets round out your options. Prices are less than ten dollars for the starters and the entrees will set you back on average $13 or so, with only the shrimp skillet going over the $15 threshold.
Since Ed was running late, as usual, Katie and I started with this Gogi Quesadilla ($7.50). This quesadilla included plenty of their delicious beef gogi and cheese. The corn tortilla was grilled nicely with a little bit of crispy cheese on the outside of the tortilla for an added flavor boost. Not too greasy, with a very good crunch to each bite made this quesadilla a winner. It also came with a kimchi sour cream, which was a little on the thin side to be called sour cream. It was fine though, with a nice subtle kimchi tinge to it.
Even though Ed got here late, I appreciated that he took very little time picking out what he wanted. The Signature Tacos ($10.95) come three to an order, with your choice of meat, and no mixing of the proteins, so Ed went with the gogi beef that we had on the quesadilla above. The tacos come dressed with plenty; kimchi, some purple cabbage, lettuce, hot sauce, red onions, queso fresco, and drizzled with gochujang aioli, which I learned is made up of a red hot pepper paste. Ed normally doesn't say much about his food, but when I asked him if he liked this, he answered in the affirmative. Thanks for the descriptive prose Ed.
I'm always down for a Cheesesteak ($11.50), but Katie picked this before I could get to it. I'd say this was just like a regular cheesesteak, so not a lot of fusion going on with this sandwich. They use gogi on this, which is a very close cousin to the meat they put on a Philly cheesesteak, then add bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms, which also commonly go on everyone's favorite sandwich from the city of brotherly love. Katie felt they nailed the cheesesteak vibe they were going for, maybe a little too well. She wanted this cheesesteak to be more of a fusion item, but with the exception of a slight sweetness to the meat, it just tasted like a regular cheesesteak. A good one though.
I could not decide between a few things, so I opted to get two items and eat half of each while saving the other half for lunch the next day. First up was the Spicy Pork Torta ($11.50). The description of this blew me away when I read it; bacon refried beans, spicy pork, of course, lettuce, tomato, pickled red onion, queso fresco, jalapenos, and finished off with avocado aioli. This did have quite a bit of heat to it but did not detract from the many flavors of the sandwich. The pork was finely chopped and melded with the beans well. I would have liked a lot more avocado aioli on this, as I'm always partial to a heavy hand when it comes to condiments on sandwiches. The half that I had the next day was better than the one I had at the restaurant. I guess the flavors had more time to meld together. I'm eyeing the chicken katsu sandwich on my next trip here.
I could not come to Urban Seoul 2.0 and not try one of their famous fusion skillets. The Chorizo Kimchi Fried Rice Skillet ($14.95) would be my selection for this evening. Checking out the pictures on Yelp, I'd say this is one of their more popular items, and for good reasons. It uses the holy trinity of pork products, chorizo, bacon, and pork belly, and then they throw in some kimchi, garlic, pickled red onions, fried onion, rice, and green onions, and finish it off with a sunny side up egg. A very comforting dish. I did not really get a lot from the bacon and chorizo in here, but the pork belly was delicious. I also liked the sharpness of the pickled onion, which cut the richness of the pork belly. My one complaint was that the sunny-side-up egg was overcooked, so the yolk was not runny at all, which I think would have made this even better. A very good bowl for a pretty chilly evening.
Mission accomplished having Ed meet us at Urban Seoul 2.0 this evening. When Ed and I were growing up in the early '80s, we had no inkling that we'd be eating at a restaurant like this 30-plus year later. Restaurants like Urban Seoul 2.0 show how far the food scene has advanced in OC. No longer are chain spots the places to head when you want to go out to eat. Urban Seoul 2.0 hit the mark this evening. I would have liked to have seen an even greater cross-over between the Mexican and Asian ingredients, but what we had this evening was all pretty delicious and I look forward to coming back and trying more of their menu soon. Sometimes fusion foods do not really hit the mark, but on this evening they did for us and our good friend Ed.
Out of five kites, (because kite flying is a very popular hobby in Korea), five being best to zero being worst, Urban Seoul 2.0 gets 3 kites.
For more information about Urban Seoul 2,0, check out their website here: https://www.urbanseoul2.com/
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